Dutch Parties Start Coalition Talks

By

Vanessa Mock and

Maarten van Tartwijk

Updated Sept. 13, 2012 5:09 p.m. ET

THE HAGUE—Dutch political parties on Thursday held their first informal talks toward forming a coalition, which is widely expected to be headed by the Liberal and Labor parties, the two centrist, pro-European election winners.

The closed-door, all-party negotiations at the Dutch Parliament in The Hague are the first step in the potentially lengthy horse-trading between the Liberal Party of Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Diederik...